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Research: How Games May Help Treat PTSD

By james_fudge

A new study from the UK reveals that Tetris - of all things - can help treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. A new study from Oxford University suggest that playing the popular falling block puzzle game may help to prevent visual flashbacks from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The study looked at how subjects exposed to video images of traumatic violence reacted after playing a word based game, Tetris, and then no game. Of those groups, only those who played Tetris had significantly fewer flashbacks. Oddly enough, those who played the word game had experienced more flashbacks than the control group or the Tetris group.

"We think it works because it's competing with resources with the same kind of visual memory that would otherwise make a visual flashback," said Dr. Emily Holmes, one of the researchers. Read More

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Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on November 13, 2010 (boomark / email).